Book Review: Master Leaders

Tyndale Publishing was kind enough to send me a review copy of George Barna’s Master Leaders.  George Barna has earned the reputation as a respected voice regarding trends and developments in American spirituality.  He lends his pen and expertise to his new work, Master Leaders.  The book is a collection of insights gathered from thirty of the nation’s top leaders.  They are drawn from the world of sports, politics, business, and religion.  Barna collects quite a bit of information.  He gathers their thoughts and comments on a range of issues that are broken down and presented in sixteen chapters.  Those chapters are:

1. Unexpected discoveries
2. Defining and evaluating real leadership
3. Vision and values
4. Creating culture
5. Developing leaders
6. Hiring the right people
7. Leading well
8. Earning and maintaining trust
9. Confrontation and conflict
10. Character
11. Following
12. Team building
13. Faith and morals
14. Power
15. Criticism and pressure
16. Skills and discipline

Barna also includes a couple of helpful appendices.  One listing a brief biography of the participants, and another detailing their works. 

The book is filled with some great insights.  Most of them, however, have been presented before.  That’s part of the problem with books on leadership.  After awhile, they tend to sound the same.  If you’ve never read guys like Blanchard and Bennis, there are plenty of “wow” moments.  If you have, you might find the book a little familiar.  It’s sort of like a greatest hits cd.  The tunes are great, but familiar.  That’s sort of the impression I walk away with.

With that said, however, Barna still manages to inject some great thoughts and insights.  The chapter on character as well as the one on faith and morals are particularly good.  Many “mainstream” leadership books tend to skirt over these issues.  Barna’s contributors have a some great comments on these issues, and their comments are quite refreshing.

Finally, it’s worth me noting that the style of the book is a little distracting.  Barna is very open that the book is placed in a fictional setting.  All of the comments and insights are true, but they were obtained in separate interviews.  Barna presents them as taking place in one large gathering.  At first, the concept struck me as interesting.  It eventually began to be a little bothersome.  I’m not sure if the book would have been better in another format, but I think I would have liked to find out.

Overall, the book is well worth the read.  Anyone wanting to grow in leadership would enjoy Master Leaders.  It is filled with a number of great thoughts and quotes.  The appendices offer a great bibliography for additional study.  Despite some of the book’s drawbacks, I would highly recommend it.

The First Christmas Promise

Most of us have heard of Adam and Eve.  We sort of know the basics of their lives and their story.  The Garden of Eden.  The Serpent.  For those who haven’t, here’s a quick primer.  God created Adam and Eve and placed them in a perfect place called the Garden of Eden.  Everything was at their disposal, except for the fruit of one tree.  One day, Satan, in the guise of a serpent, tempted Eve to eat the fruit of the tree.  Adam joined her and innocence was lost.  Humanity has been plunged into sin and death ever since.  In the aftermath of Adam and Eve’s sin, God announces the consequences of their choices.  In the midst of these consequences, there is an interesting verse.

“I will put hostility between you and the woman, and between your seed and her seed. He will strike your head, and you will strike his heel” (Genesis 3:15, HCSB).

As God curses the serpent for his role in these events, He announces that One would come who would destroy the serpent and all that he had caused.  In short, God announces that a deliverer would come and set us free from the power of sin and death.  What’s remarkable to me in this story is the fact that God had a plan from the very beginning.  For many of us, we start the day with a plan, and then when something goes awry, we panic.  We run around frantically trying to figure out what to do because traffic was heavier than we had planned.  God doesn’t do that.  Long before Adam and Eve took their first breath, God knew what was going to happen.  He knew His perfect creation was going to be plunged into imperfection. He knew that something was going to have to be done about sin and death.  He knew that One would come who would undo all that had been done.  Long before He was needed, God knew that Jesus would come to set His people free.  So, a little over three chapters into the Bible, we find the first verse to promise Christmas.  A deliverer would come.  He would destroy sin and death.  He would vanquish Satan and his power.  He would set His people free.  That’s a great plan.

Where’s the NLT Study Bible?

I usually drop by the CBA website to see how the sales of various books, Bibles, and Bible translations are trending.  I was surprised a little by the most recent list to see that the HCSB has dropped to seventh in unit sales (see the entire list is here).  If memory serves my right, it had actually surpassed the ESV was in the top five last month.  I was also intrigued by the top study Bibles (see the entire list is here).  As usually, the ESV Study Bible was on top.  I was interested, however, to see that the NLT Study Bible was not in the top ten.  I think the ESVSB is probably the best and the most thorough study Bible on the market (my study Bible opinions are here), but the NLTSB is also a great study Bible.   I was just a little surprised to see it completely out of the top ten.

More Clear or More Familiar?

When preparing a funeral service, one of the things I usually try to do is incorporate portions of Scripture that are meaningful to the family.  While recently doing this, I re-encountered Psalm 23 and had to ask myself this question:  When we come to such a passage, are we looking for a clear rendering or a familiar one?  For instance:

“The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.He makes me lie down in green pastures.  He leads me beside still waters. He restores my soul.  He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.  Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.  You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows.  Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever” (Psalms 23:1-6, ESV)

or

“The Lord is my shepherd; there is nothing I lack.  He lets me lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside quiet waters.  He renews my life; He leads me along the right paths for His name’s sake.  Even when I go through the darkest valley, I fear no danger, for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff —they comfort me.  You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies;  You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows.  Only goodness and faithful love will pursue me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord as long as I live” (Psalms 23:1-6, HCSB).

So, which to prefer?  For the sake of this conversation, I’m not seeking which one is “more accurate,” but which rendering resonates better with the listener?

If interested, you can read more on my thoughts about the HCSB and the ESV.

Better than the Angels

Jesus is better than any other option.  That’s the main point of the book of Hebrews.  As the author of the book continues to make his case for the superiority of Christ, he informs his readers that Jesus is greater than the angels (Hebrews 1:4-2:18).  Jesus is greater because He has a better name than the angels (1:4), and is called a son (1:5).  He must be superior to the angelic realm because they worship Him (1:6).  Futhermore, He created and will undo all things (1:10-12).  Subsequently, we would do well not to neglect the salvation available in Him (2:3).

Towards the end of his comparison, the author points out that the connection Jesus has with humanity.  He highlights that connection in six special ways: 

1. The incarnation – Jesus is God and became man (John 1:1).  “For He has not subjected to angels the world to come that we are talking about.  But one has somewhere testified:  What is man that You remember him, or the son of man that You care for him?  You made him lower than the angels  for a short time (Hebrews 2:5-7, HCSB).
2. The exaltation – God highly exalted Jesus to a position of honor and glory (cf. 1:3, 13; Philippians 2:10).  “You crowned him with glory and honor and subjected everything under his feet.  For in subjecting everything to him, He left nothing that is not subject to him. As it is, we do not yet see everything subjected to him” (Hebrews 2:7-8, HCSB).
3. The subtitution – Jesus took our place on the cross and paid the penalty for our sin.  ”But we do see Jesus—made lower than the angels for a short time so that by God’s grace He might taste death for everyone—crowned with glory and honor because of His suffering in death” (Hebrews 2:9, HCSB)
4. The sanctification – Jesus lived a perfectly obediently life, and He sets us apart to live a life that honors the Father.  “For in bringing many sons to glory, it was entirely appropriate that God—all things exist for Him and through Him—should make the source of their salvation perfect through sufferings.  For the One who sanctifies and those who are sanctified all have one Father.  That is why Jesus is not ashamed to call them brothers, saying:  I will proclaim Your name  to My brothers; I will sing hymns to You in the congregation” (Hebrews 2:10-12, HCSB).
5. The identification – Jesus can identify with us because He was made flesh.  He knows what it is to be human.  In the ultimate expression of His humanity, His death, He destroyed the work of Satan.  ”Again, I will trust in Him.  And again, Here I am with the children God gave Me.  Now since the children have flesh and blood in common, Jesus also shared in these, so that through His death He might destroy the one holding the power of death—that is, the Devil — and free those who were held in slavery all their lives by the fear of death. For it is clear that He does not reach out to help angels, but to help Abraham’s offspring” (Hebrews 2:13-16, HCSB).
6. The propitation – Jesus’ sacrificial death paid the penalty for sin and averted the wrath of God.  “Therefore, He had to be like His brothers in every way, so that He could become a merciful and faithful high priest in service to God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people.  For since He Himself was tested and has suffered, He is able to help those who are tested” (Hebrews 2:17-18, HCSB).

Salvation by Grace through Faith

Working through the book of Hebrews, one inevitably has to deal with its “warning passages.”  As our church was making its way through this book, we paused in the middle of chapter three to re-examine just how one comes to a saving relationship with Jesus Christ.  To do so, we went to the book of Ephesians.  There, Paul writes,

“And you were dead in your trespasses and sins in which you previously walked according to the ways of this world, according to the ruler who exercises authority over the lower heavens, the spirit now working in the disobedient.  We too all previously lived among them in our fleshly desires, carrying out the inclinations of our flesh and thoughts, and we were by nature children under wrath as the others were also.  But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love that He had for us, made us alive with the Messiah even though we were dead in trespasses. You are saved by grace!  Together with Christ Jesus He also raised us up and seated us in the heavens, so that in the coming ages He might display the immeasurable riches of His grace through ⌊His⌋ kindness to us in Christ Jesus.  For you are saved by grace through faith, and this is not from yourselves; it is God’s gift— not from works, so that no one can boast.  For we are His creation, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared ahead of time so that we should walk in them” (Ephesians 2:1-10, HCSB).

Paul gives us three things to consider in this passage.  First, he highlights for us the contrast between who we were and who God is.  Paul reminds us of who we were before Christ changed us.  In our natural state, we were dead.  In addition, we were also under the influence of Satan.  We walked according to his ways.  As a result, we lived out the desires of our flesh.  We did what we wanted when we wanted.  Subsequently, we were subjected to God’s wrath and judgment.

God, on the other hand, is rich in mercy and the very epitome of love.  He makes us alive.  A corpse cannot bring itself back to life.  It needs to be resuscitated by another.  God gives us eternal life through Jesus.  He enables us to enjoy the second birth.  As a result, He lifts us up and gives us a seat with His Son in the heavens.  He does all of this out of the depths of His grace. 

It is grace that makes the difference.  When we think of all that God does for us, we must understand that we have not earned any of it.  We don’t deserve His goodness.  His gift towards us is not payment or recompense.  It is the simple outpouring of His marvelous grace.  We are saved by grace through faith.  Not by faith through grace.  Faith is the channel, but grace is the cause.  This is an important distinction.  If we could save ourselves, we would boast in our spiritual superiority.  Thankfully, however, we are saved by God’s precious gift.  We cannot brag about it.  We can only humbly accept and enjoy it.

Paul then suggests why we are saved.  God saves us for a purpose.  We are saved that we might live out loud for Him and do the works He prepared for us to do.   God expects us to live a certain way.  He empowers us to walk in the works which He has prepared.  He calls us to do such.  May we honor and glorify Him in all that we do.  May our lives bear testimony to this great salvation.

Obtaining Salvation

As Paul encourages the Thessalonians regarding the return of Christ and the hope they have in Him, he writes “For God did not appoint us to wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Thessalonians 5:9, HCSB).  Most common English translations translate this verse the same basic way.  The more formal translations use some variation of the word “obtain” (NASB, NKJV, ESV).  The NIV is a little different.  It uses the word “receive” rather than “obtain.”

I am curious why all these translations handle the word peripoiēsin (obtain) the way that they do.  The word appears five times in the New Testament.  Two of those times it has the same sort of active sense that these translations give it in verse nine:

“It was for this He called you through our gospel, that you may gain the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.” (2 Thessalonians 2:14, NASB, emphasis added)

“But we are not of those who shrink back to destruction, but of those who have faith to the preserving of the soul.” (Hebrews 10:39, NASB, emphasis added) 

On two other occasions it has a passive idea behind it.

“But you are A CHOSEN RACE, A royal PRIESTHOOD, A HOLY NATION, A PEOPLE FOR God’s OWN POSSESSION, so that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light;” (1 Peter 2:9, NASB, emphasis added)

“who is given as a pledge of our inheritance, with a view to the redemption of God’s own possession, to the praise of His glory.” (Ephesians 1:14, NASB, emphasis added)

Most commentators acknowledge the passive option, but choose to also embrace the active.  To me, however, I like the way the passive reads.  With that in mind, the verse could be translated “because God has not placed us into wrath but into a possession (or the preservation) of salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ.”  To me, the passive really shows the working of God and the security of the recipient while maintaining the sharp contrast between wrath of the benefit of salvation.  Granted the folks that do this have forgotten more about the original languages than I’ll ever know, but this other option struck me as I was working through this passage.

NLT Interlinear is online

If you are enjoy the New Living Translation, they have just launched a great website.  It is nltinterlinear.com.  I’ve just begun to explore the website, but it has some neat features.  You can do both English and Greek word searches.  You can also compare the Greek and the English side by side, or merge them together in an interlinear (a reverse interlinear is also available).  The Old Testament features aren’t all there yet, but it is really worth checking out.

New Articles at HCSB Website

If you haven’t been to the new HCSB website yet, it’s really worth checking out.  They have just posted several new articles explaining why they used terms like “Messiah” and “slave” (for my thoughts on the later of these, you can read here and here).

How God Blesses Us in Salvation

“God has blessed us with every spiritual blessing.”  That’s how Paul begins his letter to the Ephesians.  When we examine this paragraph a little closer, we see at least a half of dozen ways God blesses us through His great gift of salvation.  Paul writes, 

“³ Praise the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavens. ⁴ For He chose us in Him, before the foundation of the world, to be holy and blameless in His sight. In love ⁵ He predestined us to be adopted through Jesus Christ for Himself, according to His favor and will, ⁶ to the praise of His glorious grace that He favored us with in the Beloved. ⁷ We have redemption in Him through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace ⁸ that He lavished on us with all wisdom and understanding. ⁹ He made known to us the mystery of His will, according to His good pleasure that He planned in Him ¹⁰ for the administration of the days of fulfillment—to bring everything together in the Messiah, both things in heaven and things on earth in Him. ¹¹ We have also received an inheritance in Him, predestined according to the purpose of the One who works out everything in agreement with the decision of His will, ¹² so that we who had already put our hope in the Messiah might bring praise to His glory. ¹³ When you heard the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and when you believed in Him, you were also sealed with the promised Holy Spirit. ¹⁴ He is the down payment of our inheritance, for the redemption of the possession, to the praise of His glory” (Ephesians 1:3-14, HCSB).

How does God bless us?  Let’s quickly look at these six things:

1. He chose us to be holy and blameless in His sight (v.4) – God chooses us before the creation of matter itself to be holy and blameless in His sight.  He enables, empowers, and expects us to live holy lives (1 Peter 1:16) and declares us blameless in His sight.
2. He predestined us to be adopted into His family (v.5) – God brings us into His family (Romans 8:15).  All former legal charges against us do not stand.  They are not valid.  We are part of a new family.  In that family, we have an intimacy with the Father.  We are not second class members on the outskirts of family gatherings.  We can cry out “Abba, Father”
3. He redeemed us through the sacrificial death of Jesus (v.7) – God purchases us and sets us free from the power of sin and death through the substitutionary, sacrificial death of Jesus.
4. He made known to us the mystery of His will (v.9) – God reveals to us His will regarding salvation.  In addition, He leads us in the daily aspects of our lives.
5. He gave us an inheritance (v.11) – God promises us that we will share in what He is given to His own Son (Romans 8:17).
6. He seals us with the Holy Spirit (v.13) – God marks and authenticates our salvation with the indwelling of His Spirit.  The Spirit is just a down payment of more to come.  His work in our lives also reminds us that we are secure in Christ. 

Why does God do all of this?  He does it because He loves us.  He wants us to be with Him.  But, primarily, God does all of this for His glory.  When we advocate a works concept of salvation, we are taking from God the glory He so richly deserve.  May He receive all of the glory for blessing us in salvation the way that He does.